2.3 Cloud Management & AIOps: Data Services Cloud Console, Data Ops Manager & HPE InfoSight
Key Takeaways
Data Services Cloud Console (DSCC) runs on the HPE GreenLake cloud and manages HPE storage fleets as a SaaS control plane; host data never passes through it.
Data Ops Manager is the DSCC service that onboards, monitors, provisions and upgrades storage systems and reports capacity, performance and sustainability metrics.
Intent-based provisioning asks for the workload, capacity, tier and protection policy, then recommends the best system in the fleet instead of manual LUN carving.
HPE says InfoSight predicts and automatically resolves 86% of problems before customers know about them, and that 54% of the issues it resolves are outside storage.
HPE MSA arrays are managed locally with the Storage Management Utility v4 and the MSA Health Check tool rather than through DSCC.
Cloud Management & AIOps
Quick Answer: Data Services Cloud Console (DSCC) is the storage console on the HPE GreenLake cloud. Its Data Ops Manager service onboards systems, provisions storage by intent, runs non-disruptive upgrades and reports on capacity, performance and sustainability across the whole fleet. HPE InfoSight supplies the AI-driven analytics behind it: predicting problems, pinpointing issues between virtual machines and storage, and automating support. MSA arrays stay locally managed with the Storage Management Utility (SMU) v4.
From element managers to a fleet console
Older arrays were managed one at a time through their own GUI or CLI. Every new volume meant choosing an array, a pool, a RAID layout, host ports and LUN numbers by hand. As fleets grew, this became slow and error-prone, and troubleshooting turned into finger-pointing between the server, network and storage teams. DSCC and InfoSight address both problems: one console for the fleet, and analytics across the stack.
Data Services Cloud Console (DSCC)
DSCC is delivered as software as a service from the HPE GreenLake cloud. The storage systems keep running their own operating systems; DSCC is the control plane.
| DSCC or related GreenLake data service | What it does |
|---|---|
| Data Ops Manager | Onboards and inventories systems, provisions volumes and hosts, monitors health, capacity and performance, schedules software upgrades and reports sustainability metrics |
| Block storage service | Day-to-day management of the Alletra Storage MP B10000 |
| Object service | Management of the Alletra Storage MP X10000 |
| Backup and Recovery | SaaS backup for VMware, Microsoft SQL Server, AWS workloads and HPE array volumes (Chapter 8) |
| GreenLake for Disaster Recovery | Zerto-powered DR orchestration delivered as a GreenLake data service (Chapter 8) |
Systems managed through DSCC include the B10000 and X10000, legacy Alletra 5000, 6000 and 9000 arrays, Primera and Nimble systems. StoreOnce Gen5 systems (3720, 3760, 5720 and 7700) can also be onboarded for visibility in Data Ops Manager and used as backup targets for B10000 protection policies. Everything DSCC does is also available through published REST APIs.
Security model
- Arrays make outbound encrypted connections to the cloud; no inbound firewall rules are needed.
- Only management information and telemetry leave the site. Application data stays on the array.
- Access is controlled by GreenLake users and roles.
- If the internet connection drops, host I/O continues. For sites that cannot connect at all, HPE offers disconnected options for the B10000 and X10000.
Intent-based provisioning
With intent-based provisioning, the administrator describes what the application needs, not how to carve it. HPE's B10000 documentation describes the inputs as the storage tier, workload type, capacity and protection policy. AI-driven logic then recommends the best-suited system across the fleet and creates the volumes, host mappings and protection with the settings for that workload.
| Traditional provisioning | Intent-based provisioning |
|---|---|
| Pick an array and pool by hand | DSCC recommends the system from fleet analytics |
| Choose RAID, size, ports and LUN IDs | Workload template sets the volume settings |
| Configure snapshots and replication separately | A protection policy is applied at creation |
| Repeated per array | Same workflow for every system in the fleet |
Fleet operations and analytics
Data Ops Manager reports headroom utilization trends, top hotspots by latency, workload drift and resource contention, together with capacity, data-reduction savings and sustainability figures such as energy use and carbon emissions. Software upgrades are delivered through the cloud and applied non-disruptively, with DSCC recommending versions that suit each system.
HPE InfoSight
HPE InfoSight began with Nimble Storage and now provides AI-driven operations across HPE storage and servers. It collects telemetry from connected systems and compares each one with patterns learned across the installed base.
HPE's long-standing claims for InfoSight, which the exam may quote, are:
- It predicts and automatically resolves 86% of problems before customers are aware of them.
- 54% of the issues it resolves are outside storage, for example in the hypervisor, host configuration or network.
What InfoSight does
| Capability | Example |
|---|---|
| Predictive analytics | Spots a firmware defect signature or a failing component before an outage and opens a case |
| Cross-stack analytics | Shows whether a slow virtual machine is waiting on host CPU, memory or the network rather than on storage |
| Resource recommendations | Flags under-used virtual machines or resources and suggests changes |
| Capacity and performance forecasting | Projects when a system will run out of capacity or headroom |
| Support automation | Automates level 1 and level 2 triage and routes customers to experts with the diagnostic data attached |
Systems that are managed locally
Not every HPE storage product is managed in DSCC:
- HPE MSA Gen7 uses the browser-based SMU v4, a CLI and RESTful Redfish and Swordfish interfaces. The MSA Health Check tool, reached from SMU v4 or HPE.com, analyzes array logs and flags problems.
- StoreOnce systems have their own browser GUI, and a federation lets one StoreOnce GUI manage up to 40 systems. Gen5 systems can additionally be onboarded to Data Ops Manager.
- Tape libraries use their web management interface and HPE Command View for Tape Libraries.
Common exam traps
- "DSCC carries the data." It carries only management traffic and telemetry.
- "A WAN outage takes storage offline." Host I/O continues; only cloud management pauses.
- Confusing the roles. DSCC and Data Ops Manager are where you act; InfoSight is the analytics engine that informs those actions.
- Assuming the MSA is cloud managed. MSA administration uses SMU v4 and the MSA Health Check.
Which Data Services Cloud Console service is used to onboard storage systems, provision volumes, monitor capacity and performance, and schedule non-disruptive upgrades across a fleet?
Data Ops Manager in DSCC
HPE Assessment Foundry
MSA Health Check
HPE Command View for Tape Libraries
An administrator uses intent-based provisioning in DSCC to create storage for a new SQL Server application. What does the administrator provide?
The RAID level, disk group, controller ports and LUN number for each new volume
The workload type, capacity, storage tier and protection policy for the new application
Only the array serial number and the IP address of each host
The SAF Collector output file from the customer's last assessment
Virtual machine users report slow response times, and the storage team is blamed. Which HPE InfoSight capability helps show whether the delay is caused by storage or by host resources?
Intent-based provisioning of new SQL volumes
Partner Firmware Upgrade on the array
Cross-stack analytics from VM to storage
Catalyst Copy between StoreOnce systems
How is an HPE MSA Gen7 array normally managed?
Only through Data Services Cloud Console, because the MSA has no local interface
Through HPE One Config Simple and the HPE Support Center
Through a StoreOnce federation that controls up to 40 arrays
Locally with SMU v4, the CLI or REST APIs, plus MSA Health Check
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.